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Three years ago, Dr. Colin Dawes, a paleontologist, well-known fossil hunter, author, and a bit of a celebrity in his local Lyme Regis, added metal detectorist to his long line of credits.

His metal detecting adventures has recently brought him further attention. After joining a local metal detecting club in East Devon, he has had quite the successful run. Armed with his metal detector, he unearthed seven bronze Roman coins in Uplyme, a village located on the Devon-Dorset border, adjacent to Lyme Regis.

The location of the site has not been disclosed but many theorize that the coins may be from the remains of another Roman Villa similar to the one found in the village of Uplyme in the 1800s. Check out the rest this piece on his discovey from Bridpoint News.

The combination of his various pursuits and the good fortune that is his home has, in some way, tipped the scales in his favor—Lyme Regis is nicknamed “The Pearl of Dorset” and noted for the plentiful fossils found in its cliffs and beaches; it is also known as the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Dr. Dawes’ metal detecting has organically developed into a particular niche. It seems that he is, again, drawing from his personal knowledge and experience and mixing it with his metal detecting. Perhaps due to his familiarity with the area and its distinct terrain, he has been putting his metal detector to use in The Undercliff—several areas of landslip on the southern English coast (including Lyme Regis). He has become somewhat of an expert in the subject that he has been asked to deliver a talk about it in the local museum.

We’re sharing this story to illustrate how anyone can have their own treasure hunting success story. As we’re mentioned, in the case of Dr. Dawes, he is lucky to reside in a locale whose background is so rich that it’s actually pre-historic.

But, if we really think about it, all he needed was a metal detector and a group of people who shared the same interest, and he was set.

If not for anything else, his story gives the rest of us something to shoot for.

Metal detectors are great for finding lost objects and buried treasures. As long as an object is made of metal or has parts made of metal, it’s not impossible to find with a metal detector. You can use metal detectors to find gold nuggets or your lost keys.

With a metal detector you can enjoy…

Coin shooting. This is a type of metal detecting that focuses on finding coins from lost change after an event to old gold, silver, and copper pieces.

Relic hunting. You may be no Tia Carrere but you can look for relics like dog tags, insignias, or even weapons from past wars and historical conflicts with a metal detector.

Treasure hunting. Be an explorer and find hidden caches of gold, precious jewels, or silver pieces by using metal detectors.

Prospecting. This primarily refers to looking for gold nuggets but looking for any valuable metal is also considered prospecting.

There are many metal detectors for sale – but not all are created equal. There are also several factors that can affect the results of your search.

Factors that can affect your search include…

Metal detector type. Using the right type of metal detector for a particular terrain can improve your chances. Use a beach metal detector when looking along the beach or riverbeds and a coin metal detector when looking for old and historical coins.

Metal detector technology. The technology used in your metal detector is a major factor that contributes to its capability. Some metal detectors use higher frequencies than others, while some provide larger or smaller coils. To find high quality metal detectors for sale at affordable prices, visit Metal Detector Town.

Object size. The bigger the object or the larger its metal component is, the easier it is to detect given that most detectors are often limited at 8 to 12 inches of depth.

Interference. This can take many forms: Naturally occurring minerals in the soil, natural conductors, pipes, cables, and power lines can interfere with the signal from the metal to your detector.

If you are frustrated by the load of trash and useless items your metal detector seems so keen on beeping about, you may need to adjust and balance your Ground level. The Ground knob on your metal detectors sets the level of rejection your metal detector gives ground mineralization.

Ground mineralization, simply put, is the kind of mineral present on the ground. To balance your Ground means detecting the difference between rusted iron nails, common salt, and genuine gold coins. Fine tuning the Ground control for your metal detector for a specific area will improve its performance especially if the All Metal mode is selected.

Fine tune your metal detector’s Ground level by doing the following:

1. Go to the area you wish to search.

Different areas require different ground level since most places have different ground mineral concentration. A beach or the riverside may have higher concentration of minerals due to sand crystals, gold, and other mineral sediments compared to your neighbor’s yard.

2. Do a test run.

Turn your metal detector’s Threshold control until a slight hum you hear a slight hum. Set your metal detector to All Metal mode. Lower your metal detector to search height then slowly lift it to about four inches. Do this repeatedly.

3. Listen for sound disparity.

As you lift and lower your metal detector, listen for changes in the hum volume. Ideally, if your Ground balance is correct, the volume will stay the same even if it is on search height or four inches high. To aid in this, concentrate on volume disparity only as your coil or loop approaches the ground.

4. Adjust your Ground knob accordingly.

Your goal is to find the ground setting that allows only minimal or no change at all in the volume of the hum as the loop is lifted and lowered. Adjust your Ground knob until you hit the right balance.

5. Reduce sensitivity controls.

A great metal detector allows you to adjust sensitivity controls if you find it hard to achieve the right balance. Metal Detector Town offers the best metal detectors and metal detecting equipment with advanced sensitivity control and great customer support.

We have many customers that love to go searching for artifacts and especially old guns and gun parts. We often get questions about old guns that have been found on a treasure hunting mission. We have compiled some interesting information about firearms and we hope you find this post helpful even if a little off topic.There are literally millions of facts floating around about firearms, from muzzle velocities to types of projectile, from reload times to rates of fire. Anyone can find those, just look up a blog. This Top 5 feature, however, looks behind the traditional ‘interesting’ firearm facts to give you a list of 5 facts that you don’t already know about guns (and by ‘guns’ we mean handguns, rifles and machine guns, not artillery pieces!). We’ve dusted off dad’s old military history digests and scoured countless pages of weaponry fan-boy webzines for your leisure and now we’re cocked, locked and ready to rock.

1. Guns: The First Guns The world’s first firearms were developed in China in the mid 12th century AD. An important find in the early 1970s in Pan-la-ch’eng-tzu village, Manchuria, included a barreled powder-operated projectile weapon dating to circa 1290AD. As a result of the fact that the weapons of ancient and mediaeval China were usually designed to strike fear into the hearts of the enemy, the functionality of these old weapons has been questioned. Simply, some scholars feel that the idea of the working weapon was enough to deter an enemy assault.

2. Popular Firearms The American-made M16 and the Russian-made AK-47 assault rifles are the two most popular firearms in use today. Both guns offer variable firing modes, quick rates of fire, moderate-high power, reliability, medium-long range and high levels of accuracy.

3. The Most Accurate Guns Recently, the longest kill on record was established.An American sniper using the famed Barett .50 Cal Sniper Rifle shot and killed an insurgent from over two miles away. Before the sound of either shot alerted the insurgent to the presence of an enemy sniper, the sniper apparently missed with his first shot, corrected and fired again, killing his target.

4. Heckler and Koch- Revolutionizing the Sub Machine Gun Based in West Germany in the 1960s, this important small arms manufacturer revolutionized the design of the modern submachine gun with the MP5. It’s no surprise, Since the weapon is so reliable, that it is the standard weapon of choice for close-quarters spec ops teams all over the world including the SAS and many state SWAT teams.

5. The Sniper – Always a Specialist Soldier From the earliest use of the word ‘sniper’, the term has described someone with a knack for a particular skill. That ability is marksmanship overlong distances, most likely from a covered position. The word originated among Imperial British soldiers in India in the late 18th century. You had to shoot down a snipe, a little and very quick type of bird before you were considered a sniper. The sniper, as a result of the skill he deploys, acts as a single unit, selecting and taking out enemies at will. This makes him the most valued asset among your allies and perhaps the most feared and loathed member of the rival force.

Modern day treasure hunters and metal detectorists want to have the best tools at their hands. Before choosing the best metal detector to purchase, treasure hunters should first understand the kind of hunting they will be doing. Metal detectors should meet the treasure hunters’ needs. A coin hunting metal detector is usually quite different than a gold hunting metal detector. But what if you want a metal detector with no limits, and can suit almost all conditions and targets?

Finding the best metal detector for your needs may be daunting, because in a world where technologies are always expanding, sometimes it is difficult to fully understand the technology to know what is best. Whether relic hunting, coin hunting, gold prospecting, underwater hunting, or in any other treasure hunting, metal detector selection is varied and complicated.

What technology and features in metal detectors should treasure hunters be looking for? Now, Treasure Hunter has made it possible to find almost everthing you need in a metal detector with just one all purpose machine. Today, we will be discussing here our most popular all purpose metal detector, Treasure Hunter XJ9-3050 suited for almost all types of treasure hunting.

Various metal detectors made by different companies present all-in-one detectors that can cover the broad spectrum of treasure hunting needs. Most all purpose metal detectors comprise of a standard set of features. These include the metal detector’s depth, technology and frequency used, detection modes, ground balance, signals, sensitivity, and metal discrimination.

Most brands will offer some of the features above. Until now there has not been a machine that can offer all of those features and more advanced technologies in one all purpose metal detector.
Please allow us to share with you what’s new in the metal detecting engineering. A lot of treasure hunters have been dying to grab this – The Treasure Hunter XJ9-3050. One of the newest and certainly most impressive innovations for this year– the Treasure Hunter XJ9-3050 performs at the top of its class and is turning the heads of treasure hunters and metal detector enthusiasts. Unlike other all purpose detectors, this metal detector offers increased target range and versatility because Treasure Hunter XJ9-3050 uses patented TH multi-frequency technology, therefore combining VLF technology with that of higher frequencies to achieve greater depths, increased discrimination and sensitivity for objects like gold nuggets. This model was indeed designed for the Treasure Hunter that wants no bounds or limitations to the type or depth of desired targets. Treasure Hunter 3050 has an exclusive 32 bit Z-TEX Computer Microprocessor. By so far, it’s the only one of its kind.

This detector seems equipped with better and more varied features than any other in its class. With a larger LCD screen, accurate target ID, six operation modes, dual frequency, deep search with surface elimination, this detector truly stands out above its peers. Now it is easier than ever for hunters to dig deeper and dream bigger with Treasure Hunter XJ9-3050?

Treasure hunters want to have the best tool when searching for treasure. Until now that has literally meant that you may need a quiver of metal detectors. Treasure Hunter has done an impressive job, with the XJ9-3050, to allow treasure hunters to own a true all purpose metal detector for a surprisingly reasonable price. Let metal detector town fit you for an XJ9-3050 today Treasure Hunter XJ9-3050 . With our 30-day iron clad money back guarantee, you have nothing to lose and quite a variety of treasure to gain.

Many people often ask me the question of how exactly do metal detectors work… So, how does a metal detector work? The basic treasure hunting metal detector has four main components: The stabilizer, control box, shaft, and search coil. The stabilizer is simply a cradle for your arm to help stabilize the metal detector motion while searching. The control box contains the microprocessor, PCB, batteries, speaker, headphone plug. Some metal detectors have a really complex and powerful microprocessor with complicated digital displays, and some others do not have display features at all. The more sophisticated metal detector s on the market are able to discriminate the type of metal that is being detected, the depth of the object, and some can even tell you the size and type of object (relic or coin). Most metal detectors are mono-frequency detectors and are going to use VLF technology (very low frequency). This frequency is usually in the 6.4kHz range and is good for detecting non-ferrous metals deep in the ground. The metal detector coil is made up of an outer coil and an inner coil. The outer coil transmits a magnetic field and the inner coil receives or detects resulting magnetic fields coming from objects in the ground. The outer coil transmits a magnetic field into the ground and if there is any conductive (metal) objecst then it amplifies the respective magnetic field of these objects. This causes the object to transmit a magnetic field upward toward the surface of the ground that the inner coil (receiver coil) will detect and transmit the information (intensity, frequency) back to the control box. Based on how strong the signal is, the detector can approximate the size and the depth of the object being detected.

VLF metal detectors can also distinguish between different metals by analyzing the magnetic field frequency that is received from the buried object. This is done by looking at a phenomenon called Phase Shift. Each type of metal, depending on its inductance and resistance, will give a different frequency back then is received from the transmitter coil. By analyzing the phase shift (difference in frequency) that is received from the object, the advanced metal detectors can approximate what type of metal is being detected below the ground. This can become complicated when you consider that many target objects will be alloys of different metals and that some precious metals have the same phase response as junk metals. Most VLF detectors have the capability to adjust the discrimination to allow for canceling out the signals of ferrous metals like iron (low phase shift) that would account for most of the trash that would be found.

This is the basic operation of the common treasure hunting VLF metal detector. With modern VLF detectors, you can discriminate most trash and find precious metals at significant depths and have a good idea of what it is you have found before digging anything out of the ground.

The ancient principles of treasure hunting in the modern art of metal detecting is more than just an expression of a hobby for me. It was 5am on this morning of October 8th, 2009 in the great independent republic of Horry County right here in Myrtle Beach, SC. I was following my Treasure Hunter GPS to the direct location of an old ghost town on the outer boundaries of Myrtle Beach, in a little town called Conway. There was nothing around, nobody, but according to my device this was the coordinates of an old trading post bustling with activity in the early 1800’s. It was a beautiful meadow inside about a square mile of clearing. First thing I did was to meditate and send my prayers out to the god of treasure asking him to grant favor on me for this beautiful day. There had been torrential rains for 2-days that had loosened up the ground and hopefully helped to bring some treasures closer to the surface. I then explored the hunting site a little, and could see evidence of a few root cellars, and the remnants of a few wooden structures. I quickly unsheathed my trusty Treasure Hunter 3050 all purpose detector…. within 5-minutes I quickly discovered some evidence confirming the historical fact of a settlement in this spot. I unearthed an old and very interesting blacksmith hammer. Encouraged by this I resumed my hunting with vigor and excitement. I hunted in the same vicinity for about 1-hour with no luck aside from a few Indian head pennies and interesting buttons…. I decided to check out the apparent hot spots and headed toward the cellar remains. In another hour of grueling hunting, I had nothing to show for my efforts aside from some old railroad iron nails, screens, broken axle heads, roof fragments, and a few coins. I decided to make my way to the treeline, I was walking quickly and making large sweeps with my searchcoil, making each swing as wide as I could keeping the searchcoil face almost parrallel to the ground and trying not to overlap swings. I call this method high efficiency detecting…. This works well with the Treasure Hunter 3050 because the coils motion causes deeper detection because it was in the all motion mode. About 20-yards from the treeline my detector yelped out a high pitch signal and the Digital ID told me I had found something gold. With this strong of a signal, I thought for sure it was a circuitry error and that I must have just found a large rusty iron bucket or something. Iron and gold have a very similar magnetic resonance and many detectors can not distinguish the two metals. Luckily my Treasure Hunter 3050 has dual frequency technology and with the higher frequency can detect even small gold nuggets accurately. I quickly began to investigate my find…. I brushed the leaves and grass off the spot, and began to dig a little. Under about 1″ of dirt, I caught a glimpse of a greenish and bronze object there in my target area, but could not make out what it could possibly be. I dug my shovel into the dirt carefully all around the rather large object and pried it out meticulously. To my great wonder and delight I beheld a small (about 6″high) and beautiful gold statue of what appears to be an Indian or Buddha woman praying. I have tested this with my gold detection kit and confirmed this is an 18 Karat gold statue. Although this is a very strange find for a ghost town, favor was granted for me today indeed!!!

This customer had purchased a Voyager metal detector from TH and they found a gold nugget the first day out. This just goes to show that it does not take the most expensive equipment to have a successful hunt. Sometimes the most important thing in your bag of treasure hunting tools is the earnestness to unearth your treasure, and most importantly that you are out there hunting!!!

I would recommend a detector that can operate at higher frequencies for gold nugget searches as gold will resonate at a higher frequencies than most relics and precious metals. Consequently, most detectors are VLF (very low frequency) metal detectors and can sometimes miss gold and often confuse gold with iron. VLF detectors also allow for greater detection depths.

For gold nugget hunters, you may want to try one of our dual frequency detectors like the Treasure Hunter XJ9-3050, or the 3019 which has the benefits of a VLF detector and also has a parrallell band of higher frequency specifically for gold detection.

Here are some guide questions that will help you shorten and weed out the best headphone from the ordinary headphones:

Does your headphone have a volume control on each ear?

Most metal detectors does not have volume control, having one on your headphone will help you control the volume, you do not want a blasted eardums.

Does your headphone have moisture resistant mylar speakers?

Paper cone speakers deteriorate from moisture and eventually mute soft signals. It is necessary to check if the headphone you are thinking of buying has moisture resistant mylar speakers.

Do you know if your detector has a stereo jack?

Having a stereo type headphone with a mono jack will mean you only get sound from one ear. Ofcourse although you wanted to concentrate on every sound within the hearth, you also would want to hear and bear from awareness from your surroundings– for upcoming cars, wild animals, or even your wife calling.Continue reading →

Metal detecting can be hard and grueling. As a hunter, you needed to be conscientious and observant of your very surroundings. It is a fact that all metal detectors, especially the land based ones to produce audio signals when they pass over metal targets. This sounds can be loud or even faint. With the external speakers built into metal detectors, these sounds can be misleading due to alot of factors. For one, if the target is small you will hear faint and deep signals.

With a headphone, you will hear even the faintest of sounds. This means additional find for you! Not only that, environmental factors can be blocked out. Howling wind, crushing waves and children laughing for example will be muted, leaving you out there “alone” with your metal detector.

In addition, with a headphone, you will be saving the life of your metal detector’s batteries. This is because the speaker in the detector is turned off when the headphone is plugged in to it and so, no energy is required to drive the detector’s external speaker.